Government on land tenure

NASSAU, The Bahamas – Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie (standing centre) at the signing of a contract between the Bahamas Government and International Land Systems (ILS) of Silver Springs, Maryland, on August 14, 2006, for consultancy services to assist with the further implementation of the Land Policy and Administration Project (LUPAP). Seated are President and CEO of ILS Mr. PeterRabley (left) and Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Mr. Ronald Thompson. Standing from left are Acting Representative for the Inter-American Development Bank Mr. Iwan Sewberath Misser, Prime Minister Christie and Coordinator for the Land Use Policy and Administration Project Mr. Tex Turnquest. (BIS photo: Eric Rose)

NASSAU, The Bahamas – Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. PerryChristie said that the $2.3-million contract The Bahamas Government signed with International Lands System (ILS), Inc., on August 14, 2006, will assist in the further implementation of the Land Use Policy and Administration Project (LUPAP).

“The general objective of the Project is to improve the efficiency of land administration management, while preparing modern land policy guidelines andlegislation, thereby contributing to the improvement of the use of the land resource of The Bahamas,” Prime Minister Christie said.

The Project consists of three stand-alone, but interrelated components: Land Administration Modernisation, Land Information Management and National Land Issues and Policy Guidelines.

Prime Minister Christie, who is also the Minister Responsible for Lands and thedisposition of Crown Lands, noted that the Government received a loan from the IDB in the amount of $3.5 million for the execution of LUPAP, which has a total cost of $5 million. The Bahamas Government will co-fund the remaining $1.5 million. It officially began June, 2005 and will run for three years.

The Executing Agency for the project is the Office of the Prime Minister, through a ProjectCoordinating Unit established specifically for the purpose of coordinating the work of the Department of Lands and Surveys (DOLS), the Bahamas National Geographic Information Systems (BNGIS) Centre and other participating government and private sector agencies.

Specific results of the Project will be the modernization and expansion of the land administration services provided by the government landagencies responsible for cadastral surveying, allocation and management of Crown Land, the recording of property rights and the assessment of properties for taxation purpose and provision of geographic information for land use planning and monitoring of land development.

Also, expected results include the strengthening of the technical capacity of the government in collecting, analyzing anddissemination of land information and the preparation of policy options and guidelines for key national land issues.

“I want to also make mention of the fact that the Grand Bahamas Port Authority has joined with the execution of this Project,” Prime Minister Christie said. “Through its president, the GBPA agrees to provide technical and financial support to the development of the PIMS (ParcelInformation Management System) for that area of the island of Grand Bahama under the jurisdiction of the GBPA.”

The Prime Minister said the GBPA and it associated companies will contribute over the three-year-period up to $450,000 in funding for the development of the Grand Bahama PIMS. The funding will be used for aerial photography, production of digital mapping of Grand Bahama and the contractingof a specialized consulting firm for the design, development and installation of the PIMS in the offices of the GBPA.

Also, the Prime Minister said the GBPA will provide not less than one year from initiation of the Land Administration Modernisation Component at least two appropriate technical staff and prepare policy options and guidelines for key national issues.

“To achieve the general...